In Alex Stumpf’s hometown of Woodville, the cows outnumber the people.

“We have about 100 people and 1,000 cows,” joked the super late model driver at Wisconsin International Raceway in Kaukauna.

The 24-year-old Stumpf recently got his season started on a high note by winning the opening night super late model feature at WIR on May 24.

Stumpf and his brother, Ben, jumped into racing full-sized stock cars when they battled in the Grand National division at 141 Speedway when the track was first converted over to dirt in 2010.

“Prior to that, we had both raced at the Manitowoc County Expo and Oshkosh Speedzone,” Stumpf said of two tracks that are no longer in existence. “I started in go-karts racing at Water & Wheels in Bonduel when I was just 4 years old. I also raced mini stocks at 141 Speedway when that was still a paved quarter-mile. That was a fun little bullring we raced on. I really loved that place.”

Stumpf got his start racing at WIR in Kaukauna by serving on the pit crew of one of his buddies and former kart racing competitor Tanner Bohlen, who was racing for Denny Lamers at the time.

“I pitted for Tanner for years,” Stumpf said. “When I was 17, my dad and I got enough sponsorship money together and we bought a limited late model. It was a car Keith Romenesko drove. I ran that on my own for a year.”

While Bohlen was starting to get out of racing, Stumpf approached Lamers for sponsorship of his late model program.

“Denny sponsored me a pretty good chunk of change for a year in that limited,” Stumpf said. “The following year, Tanner ran a couple of races for Denny. Then Denny asked me to run the full season for him.”

When that offer came, Stumpf was a junior in college at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Stumpf earned a degree in small business management, which he has put to good use. When he’s not racing, Stumpf owns the Lugnut Bar & Grill in Sherwood.

With two full years of limited late model racing under his belt, Stumpf is in his fifth season of racing in the super late model class. Stumpf won a feature in 2017 and the opening night main event, a tall order when you’re racing the track’s top class against drivers who have decades of experience under their belts.

Stumpf has almost always been the “young kid” in his racing divisions, whether it was as a 13-year-old in a mini stock, a 15-year-old in a Grand National or a 17-year-old in a limited late model. He’s become accustomed to that role.

“I grew up watching all these older guys run out here for years, so I really have a ton of respect for them and I try to show that on the track,” Stumpf said. “And they show it back to me as well. The respect we’ve got is mutual.

“To win opening night, it was sort of a relief of sorts. It makes things a little more fun during the season. The goal is to try for a couple more feature wins, have some fun and keep the car straight and clean because I really don’t want to be fixing anything.”

While Lamers owns the number 66 car, former racer Todd Tetzlaff and Greg Bosch are the main crew members. The team is based in Appleton with their shop near Pierce Manufacturing. One of the staples of Lamers’ rides over the years is having Ford power under the hood, mainly because the team’s primary sponsor is Les Stumpf Ford.

“I’m a distant relation of sorts to the Stumpf Ford family,” Stumpf said. “There are more Stumpfs around here than you can shake a stick at, no pun intended.”

With his opening-night win, Stumpf is one to be considered “in the hunt” for the points chase.

“I’ve got to work on my qualifying program a little bit to contend for that,” Stumpf said. “I’ve already got feature wins and fast dash wins. I’ve still got to work on the fast time. I’ve never been the strongest of qualifiers since we never qualified when I was racing on the dirt.”

Racing on the dirt has made Stumpf a better pavement racer.

“When the car gets loose (at WIR), I don’t panic,” Stumpf said. “On dirt, you would just stand on the gas and race out of it. I went back to the dirt a couple of times and both surfaces do complement each other very well.”

With owning a bar, Stumpf is pretty much limited to his schedule of racing Thursday nights at WIR.

“Friday nights are big in the bar business, so to be able to travel much and race the weekends it makes it sort of tough,” Stumpf said. “I’d like to try running other tracks and series. It’s up to Denny really, but I may be willing at some point down the road.”

The team runs a Pathfinder chassis. His pit crew includes Tetzlaff and Bosch, along with Stumpf’s brothers Ben, Leo and Ted Stumpf, and Cory Romenesko. Sponsors are Les Stumpf Ford and Lamers Motor Racing of Appleton, along with Berghuis Custom Combining of Brillion.

Red, White and Blue: To date, 24 drivers have scored super late model Red, White & Blue state championship titles at WIR dating back several decades. Ageless Lowell Bennett, 59, will be gunning for his sixth RW&B state championship starting Thursday night with the Red Race.

Bennett has won the second-most series titles, behind only short-track legend Dick Trickle. The Wisconsin Rapids ace captured the first series crown in 1972 and won seven titles. Appleton’s Jeff Van Oudenhoven holds three crowns.

Other former series champions who are still active drivers either full or part time include Edgerton’s Casey Johnson (2016), Slinger’s Steve Apel (2015), Reedsville’s Maxwell Schultz (2014) and last year’s champion, Bobby Kendall of Montello.

A field of close to 35 super late model drivers is expected. Qualifying gets underway at 5:45 p.m., with the first race taking the green flag at 6:45 p.m. The WIR quarter-mile late models will also be in action.

Tundra Series: A number of locals are expected to compete in the third annual Bev Aschenbrenner Memorial at Marshfield Motor Speedway on Saturday. Green Bay’s Chad Butz, Freedom’s Brent Strelka and Appleton’s Jordan Thiel are among the locals expected to compete. Racing at the paved half-mile gets underway at 2 p.m., with qualifying at noon.

Dual Track Showdown: Outagamie Speedway will host a Dual Track Showdown with The Hill in Sturgeon Bay on Sunday. Sturgeon Bay will run its racing program that Sunday beginning at noon. Fans can purchase a discounted $15 ticket for both shows by emailing johnsternard@yahoo.com. The Cowbell Street Stock Tour will also be in action. Racing gets underway at the Outagamie County Fairgrounds at 6 p.m.

Dirt Kings at Luxemburg: Luxemburg Speedway will host the Dirt Kings late model tour Friday at the Kewaunee County Fairgrounds. The series points leader is Bonduel’s Nick Anvelink. Racing gets underway at 7 p.m.